For Dragonflies And Me is an extension of my heart's love for gardening, bird watching and cooking all together in one wonderful place for you to come and get a peek into our lives at The Garden Gate Farm. Sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I had a vision when we moved to this abandoned old farmhouse. I
dreamed of flower beds abounding, greeting my family and friends
as they drove up our lane. I imagined a cozy front porch surrounded
by lush colors overflowing like wide open arms ready to whisk you
into their beauty... I wanted a place where peace was felt in
simple things that was a reflection of me. I'm often inspired
while paging through home decor and gardening magazine's and
suddenly stumbling upon that perfect element... looking with a
wistful eye for anything that will shout
out, 'Here I am! I'm what you've been looking for!' ...yet with an unspoken realization that when I find it,
I fall in love and I've got to have it... but as I read on I
discover the lucky owners found it at a flea market or antique
shoppe- no resource shopper there! Yes, I think we've all been
down that path a few times too many... at least I know I have.
Which brings me to the story of my Bistro Garden and how it
acquired it's name. You see I'd been dreaming of a little bistro
table and chairs to set in one of my gardens and patiently looking
for a couple years... yes years. I can be patient with some
things... I'm not saying a lot, but 'garden junque' is one of
those things. In this case I knew what I wanted and I was willing
to wait until I came across just the right thing. Then one day
while out boutique shopping, A.K.A garage saleing I found it- a
petite black wrought iron table with two matching chairs!
"Perfect! Just perfect!" I thought... and the price was right-
twelve bucks! Oh yeah, that baby was coming home with me and I
knew right where she would be going... The Bistro Garden! The set
sits on a small patio that I laid using old silo staves that were
discarded behind the barn foundation at our first farm. I'd taken
several of them when we moved thinking I would eventually use them
as stepping stones in a future garden... gotta have a vision!
Anyway, I laid the staves and then used concrete as a 'grout'
between them. I loved it... it said, "This looks like Jean!"

﻿

The sidewalk that leads to our backdoor which divides The Side Garden
and The Bistro Garden.

The Bistro is actually the ending point of the garden off the
front porch that wraps around the side of the house along a cobble
stone walk we created. It is west of The Side Garden with a
sidewalk dividing the two. This bed has an eight foot narrow strip
that extends upward beside the house to the wall where the back
door is (See photo with birdcage and Bleeding Heart). The Bistro
Garden had to undergo an overhaul like The Side Garden. We dug up
and replanted this bed along with a couple others and laid the
black plastic ground cover. Same story... quack grass! The labor
was worth it though, this bed is stunning when the lilies are
blooming. As you can see in the picture of Taylor standing next to
them while in bloom- she is 5'3" tall and the blooms are over her
head! Fall of 2010 I planted the Spirea and last year I planted
the Hydrangea, so they are not too their full potential yet. The
Spirea will give me the height I need up against the wall with
it's solid mass of green and beautiful pink summer blooms. Once
the Hydrangea meets up with the Spirea my back drop will be quite
spectacular. Gardening requires a vision that will take several
years to create and a lifetime to enjoy! Here is my rendition of The Bistro Garden
as it appears today. Legend For "The Side Garden" This bed is just over 150 square feet including the
narrow strip.Check out, Like and Share my Facebook page for Dragonflies for extra Tea Blend Recipes at http://www.facebook.com/pages/For-Dragonflies-And-Me/550000798362651

1. Day Lilies- 10 bushes. Mix of yellow and orange which bloom at
different times.
2. Iris - 1 large clump - approx a 30" diameter
3. Hydrangea- white old fashioned
4. Spirea- 1 bush- pink
5. Peony 2 pink bushes
6. Delphinium- mini blue
7. Hosta- 2 variegated, 1 Blue and 1 green
8. Sedum
9. Bleeding Heart
10. Large Pot- I typically purchase a large petunia basket and
plant in this pot- instant WOW!
11. Birdcage- Again a garage sale find - only five
bucks!...matched perfect with the bistro table set. I typically do
one of two things in the birdcage: a) plant morning glories or
sweet pea around the bottom and let it climb or b) put potted
sweet potato vine inside and let cascade down.
10. There are typically White Allysum cascading over the rocks
along the edge.
~There are tulips planted in between the lilies. While the lilies
are growing the tulips are blooming; by the time the tulips have
faded the lilies hide them. There are also Crocus and Grape
Hyacinths mingled here and there.
~To the left of the Iris's is a five year
old red Climbing Rose (stay tuned, that's for next blog post!). Join me next time for The Banister Garden... see
you there!

Growing Mints: How To Harvest,
Preserve, Make Tea
Are you a tea drinker but never imagined you could grow your own?
It is so easy you'll wonder why you ever bought the stuff when you
could have had it in your own back yard! Please note that yes it
is super easy to grow, and it is super easy to get way out of
control. It's root system is very invasive and you will have it
everywhere if you do not take serious yet simple precautions when
planting it. Don't be mistaken that the only thing your mint is
good for is making tea either... there is a world of culinary uses
for this wonderful, versatile garden herb... read on for just a
few yummy recipes!

So here are some tried and true planting tips-
~Planting behind or beside a garage works well if it doesn't
matter where it goes and can be mowed if it gets in the lawn.
~If you want to put some in a garden, think container. My tea bed
is in my Potager. It is in an elevated area where we laid black
ground cover down and up along the inside of the rocks; filled
with dirt and planted. Even with these precautions the roots still
manage to weave their way through the woven plastic and end up in
areas where I don't want it. It is more manageable, but still
needs to be dealt with and removed.
~Use tires: Dig a hole about 6 inches deep where you will put the
tires. Lay black plastic in hole and let lay over the edges of the
hole about 3" - 6"; place two to three tires stacked one upon
another over the plastic covered hole; fill with dirt to about 3"
from top. Plant 1 tea plant- it will be enough! You will need to
thin it out regularly. If you have access to tractor tires, even
better but plant 2 plants.
Where ever you decide to plant your tea, be sure it has good
drainage and full sunlight.

You can see to the right the elevated Mint Tea bed. It measures about
15'W x 12D. I would say I harvest about 8 -10 bushel of tea off this bed.

***see below recipes for several shots of The Birstro Garden during different stages over the last few years.***

Harvesting your tea can be done repeatedly throughout the
growing season. First in spring, wait for the tea to reach at
least a foot in height, cut back about six inches. Try not to cut back so far that you don't leave any leaves. You can harvest
your tea right up to fall.
There are three options to preserve your tea leaves, choose one
or all!
1. Use the leaves to make concentrate- see recipe below "Garden
Tea Concentrate". You can store your concentrate in plastic
freezer containers to enjoy all winter long!
2. Dry the leaves: Lay de-stemmed leaves on a cookie sheet and
bake in a 200 degree oven for about 45 minutes to an hour or until
the leaves are brittle. Crumble leaves and store in airtight
glass jars or plastic containers. Follow recipes when ready to use.
3. Freeze dry: I love to use this method. Simply remove leaves
from stems, wash and pat dry; place 2 cups of packed leaves in
freezer quart size bags and freeze for up to six months. To use, simply remove bag and
use as directed in your recipe!

Now that you know how to grow, harvest and preserve
mint along with the many options in varieties there are, what else can you
make with it other than tea? Here are some easy and interesting
recipe's that will get you started using the Mint you have grown
and harvested. Enjoy!

Boil water and sugar together for 5 minutes. Add washed &
stemmed leaves-turn heat off.
Put lid on and let steep—leave the leaves in the syrup for 5
hours.
Remove leaves and wring them out. Add lemon juice if desiredTO MAKE TEA–
COLD: Add 1 cup tea concentrate to 3 cups water. Chill and
serve. Very refreshing on a hot summer day.
HOT: Add hot water and a bit of honey
Go to my Blog Spot at www.fordragonfliesandme.blogspot.com
to get a Raspberry Lemon Tea Recipe- my favorite!

This photo was taken in early April, 2012. The weather was beautiful and so we decided to get busy 'ahead' of schedule! The boys will often help clean up in the spring. Here you can see their is not much to look at yet, but...

﻿Here it is all cleaned up, mulched and ready to start showing off. You can see some of the tulips in between the lilllies, the hostas and sedum. This photo is actually from 2010. If you look underneath the large window with the flower pots, notice there is no rose bush to speak of... keep watching though!

You can see the patio that I made using the silo staves well in this picture.

Here is a shot of the narrow strip that goes to tghe back door; one in early spring in one in early summer. My bird cage stands 4' tall if that gives you an idea of the size of this Bleeding Heart. She will blooms prolifically in spring and then continues all summer long with a few blooms here and there. She loves this spot and I am able to take babies off her every year. You can see a Sweet Potato vine in the bird cage in photo to the right.

Notice in the photo (2009) to the left the arbor in the back ground is not covered yet and there is no sign of the rose bush under window shelf. This is a beautiful shot of the hostas. Now the photo to the right only two years later (2011). The arbor is well covered and the rose bush is enormous

This garden is located on the east side of the house therefore it only gets the morning sunshine so the hosta's and bleeding heart do well! You can also the delphiniums. This is one of my favorite gardens.

Photo to the left (2009) you can see the small rose bush peaking up behind the iris's. In the photo to the right, ﻿notice the potted petunias. As I mentioned earlier I am patient over some things... but waiting for planters to explode with colors is not one of them. I always purchase several extra hanging baskets to put in my large planters around the gardens... instant wow! ;-)

Here you can see the new Sprira I planted in 2011. She will eventually get almost as tall as the rose bush. The Hydrangea is in between the two. It will not get as tall therefore giving a hilly feeling.

Here are the lillies in full bloom... as I mentioned earlier, Taylor is 5'3" and the blooms are over her head. This photo was taken in 2010.

Dragonfly Learns to Fly

"Climbing to Glory", by Jean Smith

Organic Living...

To Do List Tag

BBQ Station

Read more in July 9th's blog post!

Table settings add such charm

Heirloom Tomatoes

Brushetta is now... see my recipe!

"My Garden Of Prayer", by Helen Steiner Rice

My garden beautifies my yardand add fragrance to the air,But it is also my cathedral andmy quiet place of prayer.So little do we realize thatthe glory and the powerOf Him who made the universelie hidden in a flower!

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About Me

Welcome to my blogs! My life is filled with a husband, six children and a very busy farm and market life. Our family runs a small, organic CSA and hog farm called The Garden Gate in the thumb of Michigan. My blogs are a reflection of our lives and our Christian walk here. I have always loved to journal and now I am able to share my heart and the random thoughts that take place...May you join me here often.